When we last checked in with FR3 around a month ago, he had ventured south from his home territory around Bulok, in the Gambia into Senegal and was busy exploring the Atlantic coast (see my last blog for reference).

At this point we were all wondering what our young osprey’s next move would be. Would he stay by the coast and take advantage of the absence of adult birds to claim some prime fishing real estate? Or would he head north back to more familiarity territory? As it turns out he chose the latter option…

FR3 spent 28 March continuing to explore the waters around the coastal strip known as the “Punta de Saloulou”. The following morning he headed north-east, skirting around the large inland delta that he had traversed on his way south and crossed back over the border into the Gambia. By 2pm FR3 was back in Bulok, where he then remained for the best part of three weeks.

However, in the past seven days our young osprey has decided to spread his wings once more and has traveled east to the Bintang bolon – an area which he last visited in autumn 2016. Most of the activity has been focused on an area to the south east of Kassagne, apart from on 21 April when he undertook a short round trip of around 10km to the north-east, towards a small creek to the north of Jakoi Kanjeru.

Like the Bulok bolon, much of the habitat here is dense mangrove swamp, however there are some open water areas too. This photo gives an impression of what these more open areas are like.

Remember you can view the satellite data for yourself on our tracking page

Jonathan